( Wine-Searcher) - A drinks attorney dishes the dirt on less-than-obvious legal infractions wineries face on the internet.

The online social media market is rife with potentially illegal faux pas for producers. Did you know as a producer that you couldn't recommend a specific retailer or list the price of a specific wine? Both incidents violate the so-called "Tied House Laws" that were instituted after Prohibition, in order to maintain the legal flow of wine sales without favoring any one client or sales channels.

John Trinidad, senior consul in the Napa-based office of law firm Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty, shared copious insight as to how to navigate the legally challenging social media field at conference held by the Sonoma Bar Association in May.

He noted that the primary legal concerns when building a social media campaign for a producer, importer, wholesaler or brewer, are twofold: those that legislate advertising regulations, and another set that make sure media posts are in line with the Tied House Laws. The three main regulatory agencies that monitor these rules are the Washington, DC-based Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC); and, in California, the Sacramento-based California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). The ABC board in each state regulates its own state's wine sales and social media functions.